Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between crops and the atmosphere are influenced by both climatic and crop management drivers. The investigated crop, situated at the Lonzée Terrestrial Observatory (LTO ... [more ▼]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchanges between crops and the atmosphere are influenced by both climatic and crop management drivers. The investigated crop, situated at the Lonzée Terrestrial Observatory (LTO, candidate ICOS site) in Belgium and managed for more than 70 years using conventional farming practices, was monitored over three complete sugar beet/winter wheat/potato/winter wheat rotation cycles from 2004 to 2016. Continuous eddy-covariance measurements and regular biomass samplings were performed in order to obtain the daily and seasonal Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Gross Primary Productivity (GPP), Total Ecosystem Respiration (TER), Net Primary Productivity (NPP), and Net Biome Production (NBP). Meteorological data and crop management practices were also recorded. Over the 12 years, NEE was negative (-4.34 kg C m-2) but NBP was positive (1.05 kg C m-2), i.e. as soon as carbon exportation by harvest and carbon importation (manure, slimes) are included in the budget, the site behaves as a carbon source. At the crop rotation scale (4 years) it was quite remarkable to observe that NBP was very similar over the three rotations (0.30-0.36 kg C m-2), despite climatic and management differences between years. Crop type impacted carbon exchanges, with sugar beet and winter wheat crops leading to higher net carbon sequestration than seed potato crops. For one given crop, larger growth length and cumulated global radiation drove larger cumulated NEE. Net carbon emissions were observed during intercrops, but growing mustard during these periods reduced their rates and provided carbon residues to the soil. NBP values suggest that one sixth of the total soil organic carbon stock at LTO (6.23 ± 0.16 kg C m-2 in [0, 60] cm) would be lost in 12 years. Large uncertainties (mostly due to biomass measurements) affect NBP estimates, but still, this figure is huge and should encourage cultural practices returning carbon to the soil. [less ▲]

The impacts of crop residue management on soil microbial biomass, labile carbon and heterotrophic respiration (HR) were assessed at a long-term experimental site in the Hesbaye region in Belgium. Three ... [more ▼]

The impacts of crop residue management on soil microbial biomass, labile carbon and heterotrophic respiration (HR) were assessed at a long-term experimental site in the Hesbaye region in Belgium. Three treatments, residue export (RE), farmyard manure addition (FYM) and residue restitution after harvest (RR), have been applied continuously since 1959. The soil is a Eutric Cambisol with, in 2010, significantly different total soil organic carbon contents of 4.4, 5.1 and 5.9 kg C m-2 under the RE, RR and FYM treatments, respectively. Manual field HR measurements were carried out during the 2010 and 2012 crop seasons using a dynamic closed chamber system. Microbial biomass, labile C content and metabolic diversity of soil bacteria were assessed in spring 2012. Fifty-one years after the beginning of the treatments, residue management had a limited impact on HR. Based on daily averaged values, the treatment had a significant impact (α = 10%) in 2012 but not in 2010. Based on the individual measurement dates, the treatment impact was less obvious in 2012; with the observation of a significant impact (α = 10%) on HR in only 7% and 36.8% of the measurement dates in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Labile C and microbial biomass were significantly lower in the RE treatment than in FYM and RR. Residue management had no significant effect on cold-water extracted carbon and metabolic diversity of heterotrophic soil bacteria. The limited impact of residue management on HR could be explained by (i) the relatively low amounts of recent above-ground crop inputs, (ii) the large proportion of below-ground residues and other non-exportable above-ground residues reducing the potential differences between treatments and (iii) the relatively large spatial variability of HR. In conclusion, carbon losses due to heterotrophic respiration did not differ between RE, FYM and RR treatments in the studied soil. This contrasts with the different soil organic carbon contents observed in these three treatments after fifty years of experiment. Further investigations regarding the reduction of spatial variability and the potential roles played by organic matter protection within aggregates and biochemical composition of inputs are needed. [less ▲]

Soil heterotrophic respiration (HR) was studied at different spatial and temporal scales in agricultural ecosystems in Belgium (loamy region). Results from both laboratory and field experiments conducted ... [more ▼]

Soil heterotrophic respiration (HR) was studied at different spatial and temporal scales in agricultural ecosystems in Belgium (loamy region). Results from both laboratory and field experiments conducted at short and long timescales were analysed with the aim to better understand the influence of driving variables such as temperature, substrate input quantity and quality on HR. Both empirical and semi-mechanistic models were used in order to help interpret experimental results. Our observations showed that temperature is an important HR driving variable in agricultural ecosystems in temperate regions. HR sensitivity to temperature, characterized by a Q10 differing from 2 in our experiments, was very likely influenced by substrate availability and quality. The impact of these last two factors was however never observed through our measurements. Good agreement between modelled and observed CO2 fluxes in the incubation experiment, where carbon substrate was limited, suggested that temperature played a role both directly (enzymatic response) and indirectly (labile carbon stock depletion) at a relatively short term, and confirmed the hypothesis of occurrence of abiotic fluxes linked to the presence of carbonates in the samples taken from a limed agricultural field. Crop residue management (in both quantity and quality), as characterized by relatively low input levels in our experiment, influenced soil carbon stocks in the long term. However, HR, microbial biomass, labile carbon and metabolic diversity were not affected by the investigated treatments. Besides, results from both soil carbon budgets and short term HR measurements showed that supposedly large differences were likely to be reduced due to the relatively large proportion of root residues, weeds and residues unexported at harvest. [less ▲]

This study sought to investigate the hourly and daily timescale responses of soil CO2 fluxes to temperature in a limed agricultural soil. Observations from different incubation experiments were compared ... [more ▼]

This study sought to investigate the hourly and daily timescale responses of soil CO2 fluxes to temperature in a limed agricultural soil. Observations from different incubation experiments were compared with the results of a model combining biotic (heterotrophic respiration) and abiotic (carbonate weathering) components. Several samples were pre-incubated for 8-9 days at three temperatures (5, 15 and 25°C) and then submitted to short-term temperature cycles (where the temperature was increased from 5 to 35°C in 10°C stages, with each stage being 3 h long). During the temperature cycles (hourly timescale), the soil CO2 fluxes increased significantly with temperature under all pre-incubation temperature treatments. A hysteresis effect and negative fluxes during cooling phases were also systematically observed. At a given hourly timescale temperature, there was a negative relationship of the CO2 fluxes with the pre-incubation temperature. Using the combined model allowed the experimental results to be clearly described, including the negative fluxes and the hysteresis effect, showing the potentially large contribution of abiotic fluxes to total fluxes in limed soils, after short-term temperature changes. The fairly good agreement between the measured and simulated flux results also suggested that the biotic flux temperature sensitivity was probably unaffected by timescale (hourly or daily) or pre-incubation temperature. The negative relationship of the CO2 fluxes with the pre-incubation temperature probably derived from very labile soil carbon depletion, as shown in the simulations. This was not, however, confirmed by soil carbon measurements, which leaves open the possibility of adaptation within the microbial community. [less ▲]

Crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study investigated a long-term experiment initiated in 1959 at a site in the Hesbaye region of Belgium and focused on three ... [more ▼]

Crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study investigated a long-term experiment initiated in 1959 at a site in the Hesbaye region of Belgium and focused on three contrasted treatments: residue export (RE), farmyard manure (FYM) addition and residue restitution (RR) after harvest. The objectives were to quantify the components of the C budget of croplands from a 50-year perspective and to identify the impact of the treatments on this budget and soil C sequestration, given the relatively low levels of esidue application. The soil C budget was calculated for each treatment on the basis of total soil organic C (SOC) content measurements and C input data collected since the experiment had begun and drawn from the literature. To evaluate the robustness of this approach, the budget-based output estimates were compared with annual heterotrophic respiration (HR) averages extrapolated from seasonal field HR measurements carried out at the same experimental site in 2010. The soil C budgetbased output estimates accorded well with field-based HR measurements and with most HR estimates in the literature, suggesting that, despite the many uncertainties affecting the soil C budget, these results were robust. The three treatments investigated in this study had different impacts on SOC stocks, mainly during the first 20 years of the experiment. RE and FYM caused significant SOC decreases (on average, −7 ± 5 g C m−2 year−1 over the 50 years) and increases (10 ± 5 g C m−2 year−1), espectively, whereas RR had no significant impact on the SOC stocks. The study also showed (i) the very large part (about twothirds of the total input) that represented the below-ground input, weeds and other left-over residues in the C budget, (ii) the important role probably played by residue quality in C sequestration and (iii) the large proportion of C lost annually rom the soil (which represents 93–98, 100 and 102–107% of the amounts of fresh residue rought to the soil each year in the FYM, RR and RE treatments, respectively). [less ▲]

Within the context of Climate Change, crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study aims (1) to estimate the C loss by soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) in ... [more ▼]

Within the context of Climate Change, crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study aims (1) to estimate the C loss by soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) in different residue management treatments through the establishment of their soil C budgets and (2) to compare these estimations with field SHR measurements. Three contrasted treatments were considered: Residue Export (RE), Farm Yard Manure addition (FYM) and Residue Restitution after harvest (RR). They were established in 1959 and continuously applied since then at an experimental field located in the Hesbaye region in Belgium. The soil C budget was calculated for each treatment on the basis of total soil organic C content measurements and C input data compiled since the beginning of the experiment. This allowed estimating the C loss by SHR in the different treatments. SHR measurements were performed in 2010 and 2011 to compare them with the budget-based estimations and to assess SHR sensitivity to temperature in the different treatments. The soil C budgets showed that the soil under the RR treatment was likely to undergo the biggest C loss by SHR since the beginning of the experiment. The SHR field measurements, performed 50 years after the experiment had begun, did however not show any significant difference between the SHR rates in the three treatments. Laboratory investigations (microbial biomass, basal respiration, metabolic diversity and soil fractionation) will be performed to better understand the effects of long-term residue management on soil C dynamics. [less ▲]

This study aims to estimate the carbon (C) loss by soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) in three contrasted residue management treatments (Residue Export, Farm Yard Manure addition and Residue Restitution after harvest) through the establishment of soil C budgets, and to compare these estimations with field SHR measurements. The soil C budgets were calculated in each case on the basis of total soil organic C content and C input data compiled since the beginning of the experiment in Belgium, 50 years ago. SHR fluxes were measured in 2010 and 2011 to compare them with the budget-based estimates and to assess SHR sensitivity to temperature. The comparison suggested that the treatment receiving the largest C input does not necessarily sequestrate the most C or produce the largest CO2 fluxes. [less ▲]

Within the context of Climate Change, crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study aims (1) to estimate the C loss by soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) in ... [more ▼]

Within the context of Climate Change, crop management exerts a strong influence on the soil carbon (C) balance. This study aims (1) to estimate the C loss by soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) in different residue management treatments through the establishment of their soil C budgets and (2) to compare these estimations with field SHR measurements. Three contrasted treatments were considered: Residue Export (RE), Farm Yard Manure addition (FYM) and Residue Restitution after harvest (RR). They were established in 1959 and continuously applied since then at an experimental field located in the Hesbaye region in Belgium. The soil C budget was calculated for each treatment on the basis of total soil organic C content measurements and C input data compiled since the beginning of the experiment. This allowed estimating the C loss by SHR in the different treatments. SHR measurements were performed in 2010 and 2011 to compare them with the budget-based estimations and to assess SHR sensitivity to temperature in the different treatments. The soil C budgets showed that the soil under the RR treatment was likely to undergo the largest C loss by SHR since the beginning of the experiment. The comparison between the results from the C budget and the SHR field measurements, performed 50 years after the experiment had begun, did however show that the treatment that received the largest amount of crop residues (RR) did not necessarily sequestrate the most C or produce the largest CO2 fluxes (FYM). Besides, no significant difference between treatments was observed in the field measurements in terms of SHR sensitivity to temperature. Laboratory investigations (microbial biomass, basal respiration, metabolic diversity and soil fractionation) will later be performed to better understand the effects of long-term residue management on soil C dynamics. [less ▲]

Soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) is the process by which CO2 is released during organic matter decomposition. It is generally expected that SHR can act as a positive feedback to global warming ... [more ▼]

Soil heterotrophic respiration (SHR) is the process by which CO2 is released during organic matter decomposition. It is generally expected that SHR can act as a positive feedback to global warming, therefore leading to more CO2 release into the atmosphere. It is thus important to better understand this process. Particularly, agricultural soils may behave as important CO2 sources that are strongly influenced by soil and crop management (e.g. organic matter restitution modes, hereafter “OM-RM”). The present study aimed at determining if, after more than 50 years of application of different OM-RM, (1) significant differences of SHR fluxes can be observed between treatments, (2) SHR responses to temperature and soil moisture content can be affected by the OM-RM and (3) the experimental design is suitable to assess potential differences between treatments. The experimental field is situated in Liroux, near Gembloux in Belgium. At that site, a long term experiment with different OM-RM runs from 1959 onwards. For the present study, three contrasted treatments were considered: (1) exportation of all residues after harvest, (2) addition of manure once every three to four years and (3) restitution of residues after harvest. SHR flux measurements were carried out manually on fourteen occasions from 2 April to 30 July 2010, using a dynamic closed chamber system. Temperature and soil moisture content at 5 cm depth were also measured manually. Results showed that after more than 50 years of OM-RM application, no significant differences could be observed between the three treatments in terms of SHR fluxes and SHR responses to temperature or soil moisture, while the soil organic carbon content did vary significantly between them. The sensitivity to temperature was quite low in all treatments, with a mean Q10 value of 1,36. Besides, SHR fluxes were seen to be more responsive to increases in soil water content than to absolute soil moisture content values. Indeed, when soil moisture content increased between two consecutive measurement dates, the ratio of the corresponding SHR fluxes was larger than 1. Particularly dry conditions in 2010 may actually have caused the fluxes to be very low, making the assessment of differences between treatments more difficult. Moreover, soil dryness is likely to be responsible for the SHR flux increases after rain events, as caused by re-solubilization of organic compounds. Also, an important spatial variability was observed, which may have obscured the assessment of potential differences between treatments. Further investigations will consist in performing a new flux measurement campaign in 2011 that will take the spatial variability issue into account, and in monitoring microbial and soil properties in the different treatments, such as microbial biomass, metabolic activity and labile carbon. [less ▲]

For more than 50 years, an agricultural site divided in several plots is submitted to different organic matter restitution mode to the soil (crop residues, manure,...). The objectives of this study were ... [more ▼]

For more than 50 years, an agricultural site divided in several plots is submitted to different organic matter restitution mode to the soil (crop residues, manure,...). The objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether these different treatments may cause differences between treatments in terms of soil heterotrophic respiration, that would be of the same order of magnitude than differences in total soil organic carbon, (2) how temperature and soil moisture content affect soil heterotrophic respiration in the different treatments, and (3) how different soil biological properties (microbial biomass, metabolic diversity, labile carbon content) are affected in the different treatments. The results from a first measurement campaign carried out in 2010 are presented, together with the remaining questions at this stage of the study. [less ▲]

An experimental system combining an eddy covariance system, a micrometeorological station and soil chambers placed in planted areas and in root exclusion zones was installed during three successive years ... [more ▼]

An experimental system combining an eddy covariance system, a micrometeorological station and soil chambers placed in planted areas and in root exclusion zones was installed during three successive years in a production crop managed in a traditional way at the Lonzée experimental site (Belgium). Measurements were made successively on seed potato, winter wheat and sugar beet. The general objectives of the study were, first to evaluate the relative contributions to total ecosystem respiration (TER) of heterotrophic, above ground autotrophic and below ground autotrophic respiration over a succession of three agricultural crops (seed potato, winter wheat and sugar beet) cultivated on successive years at the same location and, secondly, to identify the driving variables of these contributions. Results showed that, during the observation periods, TER was dominated by autotrophic respiration (AR) (60–90%) and that AR was dominated by its above ground component (60–80%). HR was found to increase with temperature and to be independent of Gross Primary Production (GPP), whereas AR was driven by GPP and was mostly independent of temperature. The AR response to GPP was specific to the crop: not only AR intensity but also AR distribution between its above- (ARa) and below- (ARb) ground components were found to differ from one crop to another and, in the winter wheat, from one development stage to another. Generally, ARb contribution to AR was found larger when carbon allocation towards roots was more important. An uncertainty analysis was made and showed that the main sources of uncertainties on the estimates were the spatial variability for soil chamber measurements and uncertainties linked to the data gap filling method for eddy covariance measurements. [less ▲]

Soil heterotrophic respiration is a complex process which is governed by many biotic and abiotic factors. More specifically, in the agricultural ecosystems the influence of cultural practices and residue ... [more ▼]

Soil heterotrophic respiration is a complex process which is governed by many biotic and abiotic factors. More specifically, in the agricultural ecosystems the influence of cultural practices and residue management techniques is important. Global change impacts on the phenomenon are still unclear. Some studies suggest that a positive feedback may occur. Therefore, it is necessary to get to a better knowledge of the mechanisms involved. To reach this goal, many semimechanistic models have been developed. Compared to empiric models, they allow a better understanding of soil carbon dynamics by distributing total soil carbon content into several pools. This carbon allocation is based on carbon decomposition constants. However, these models work at very different spatial and temporal scales and many differences exist between them. These ones are put forward in this paper and the main biotic and abiotic soil heterotrophic respiration factors are also described. [less ▲]

Soil respiration is a process which results in CO2 release from the soil to the atmosphere. It comprises two main components. The first one is heterotrophic respiration: CO2 is produced by soil ... [more ▼]

Soil respiration is a process which results in CO2 release from the soil to the atmosphere. It comprises two main components. The first one is heterotrophic respiration: CO2 is produced by soil microorganisms while decomposing the substrate. The second one is autotrophic respiration in which CO2 originates from roots and rhizospheric organisms. All the CO2 is then transported to the surface by diffusion (see Goffin et al., this session). Many biotic and abiotic factors play a role in soil respiration, making this process complex to analyze and understand. Temperature often appears as the most important driving variable. Besides that, interest in the future CO2 emissions from agricultural soils has been growing. Indeed, these ecosystems are a major concern from environmental, economic and social points of view. In particular, the choice of cultural practices and residue management techniques has a strong influence on CO2 emissions from agricultural systems. This work aims at getting to a better understanding of soil respiration in agricultural soils. To reach this goal, many semi-mechanistic models have been previously developed at very different spatio-temporal scales. We intend to adapt such an existing model to crop soils, within a spatial scale of a cultivated field and an annual temporal scale. The model will be validated by using flux measurements carried out at three different crop sites situated in the Hesbaye region in Belgium (Lonzée) and in the South West of France (Lamasquère, Auradé). The study was focused first on soil heterotrophic respiration. Within this part, short term sensitivity of this component to temperature was studied by means of a laboratory incubation experiment. This one was performed with soil samples taken at the Lonzée site. Among the many interesting results we got, it showed a clear sensitivity of soil heterotrophic respiration to short term temperature changes. In parallel, the soil heterotrophic model was calibrated on soil chamber measurements taken at the Lonzée site (Belgium). Next steps in this part of the work will be to calibrate the model using the data from the French sites, and finally to validate the model on the three sites. Afterwards, an autotrophic respiration submodel will be implemented and the results compared to field measurements carried out at the three sites. A further development could consist in simulating agricultural practices to take their impacts on CO2 emissions from crops into account. [less ▲]

Soil respiration is mostly affected by temperature variations but there is still much debate regarding its temperature sensitivity. Especially the difference between short- and long-term responses driven ... [more ▼]

Soil respiration is mostly affected by temperature variations but there is still much debate regarding its temperature sensitivity. Especially the difference between short- and long-term responses driven by changes in microbial activity and population respectively is addressed here. To this end, an incubation experiment is set up with soil samples taken from the surface layer (0-25cm) of a bare area at the Carboeurope agricultural site of Lonzée in Belgium. After homogenization, they are placed into incubators at three different temperatures, namely 5, 15 and 25°C for 2 weeks. Temperature is regulated by Peltier systems that warm up or cool down a bath containing jars with soil samples. All jars are continuously aerated to prevent CO2 from accumulating inside. Moisture levels in the jars are regularly checked and adjusted to ensure that the soil moisture is optimal for soil respiration. Twice a week, short term temperature response is tested by changing incubation temperatures in the range 5 - 35°C. During these cycles, CO2 fluxes are measured at each temperature step with a closed dynamic chamber system. Microbial biomass and hot water-extractable carbon are determined two times during a temperature cycle, allowing a follow up of the evolution of these two variables through a cycle. A comparison between the respiration rates, microbial biomasses and extractable carbon will be presented and would allow a better understanding of the dynamics of the heterotrophic respiration response to temperature in agricultural soils. In the future, other experiments could be derived from this one to focus on substrate availability or soil moisture impacts on soil respiration. [less ▲]

Organic matter decomposition and associated heterotrophic respiration fluxes are widely studied, as these processes could be modified under global warming. Many models have been built at different ... [more ▼]

Organic matter decomposition and associated heterotrophic respiration fluxes are widely studied, as these processes could be modified under global warming. Many models have been built at different temporal and spatial scales to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved and to quantify soil carbon fluxes. Yet, agroecosystems have been less investigated so far, despite their considerable importance. In this study, a daily-time step ecosystem model derived from CENTURY is described, parameterized and initialized for the Carboeurope agricultural site of Lonzée in Belgium. At this stage, the model aims at describing soil heterotrophic respiration and carbon dynamics in the soil. Model parameterization was performed on the basis of a literature survey (biochemical parameters) and of data collected at the site itself (soil carbon content and soil texture). In order to set up the carbon repartition between the different pools of the model, an initialization phase was run until equilibrium was reached. For this phase, mean daily climatic data were used and the soil was cultivated with winter wheat, considering that all residues were brought to the soil at harvest. At the end, the repartition was found to be independent from the simulated soil carbon content. Simulations showed a very high sensitivity of the model to the amount of incorporated residues and allowed an estimation of the amount of residues that lead the soil to a stable state. It was compatible with field observations. The model was then run with 2007 climatic data and the above-mentioned carbon repartition to simulate heterotrophic respiration. A comparison between these simulated fluxes and automatic measurements of soil respiration, performed during a 3-month period in spring 2007 on a bare zone of the field, showed a reasonable good agreement. Most of the discrepancies between measured and simulated fluxes corresponded to dry events, attesting of a need to reconsider the relationship between soil heterotrophic respiration and soil moisture in the model. To go further with the assessment of the model reliability, a calibration on data from the French Carboeurope site of Lamasquère will be achieved. Other sites may also be used. This heterotrophic soil respiration model is intended to be part of a more complete soil respiration model focused on agroecosystems and developed at the annual and ecosystem scales. In the end, autotrophic respiration, nitrogen mineralization and crop management would also be included. [less ▲]